Associated Press

SPRING CITY, Tenn. — Three children have been pulled from the icy water on Watts Bar Lake after spending nearly an hour clinging to a buoy.

First responders say the three children had fallen through the ice in a cove on the lake in Roane County.

The News Sentinel reports the three children were airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center just after noon on Saturday. The names and conditions of the minors were not released on Saturday.

Roane County Rescue Squad Capt. Eddie Jones says the call came in at 11:53 a.m., but officials had a hard time locating the kids.

Jones says some boaters reached the children first and handed them over to rescuers.